Tag Archives: Music

Finally Logic 8 is here

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It was a very long wait. Logic 7 was released in November 2004. Since then there was only one major update when releasing the Intel version of Logic 7. Rumors about a new Logic 8 have been floating around the Internet for at least the last year. People felt abandoned because of the lack of updates in the past. But these dark times are over. Today Apple released the new Logic Studio 8.

Logic Studio 8

The Logic Studio 8 package not only contains Logic Pro 8, but also the fantastic audio editor Soundtrack Pro 2, numerous effects and software instruments and the new MainStage application. Everything comes at a price of $499, which is basically half of the old price. Considering what you get for the price, this is an unbelievable bargain. There is not a single competitor who can match this pricing.

I am primarily a live musician and 90% of my music making consists of preparing and performing for concerts. Until now I have been using Brainspawn Forte on my Macbook running in Bootcamp. This works flawlessly, but I do not like having to boot into Windows to run Forte, but there were simply no suitable alternatives on the Mac. Now MainStage which is part of Logic Studio seems to deliver exactly the live capabilities I need. Including complex Patches with multiple instruments which can be organized into Setlists. It seems a dream is coming true.

I guess this will be a must-buy for me for Christmas or at least in the near future. I really hope that MainStage will deliver what it currently promises.

Apple revamps iPod lineup

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The iPod product line was the focus of yesterdays Apple keynote event. I think it was a overwhelming event, as they have replaced every iPod except the shuffle with a new model. Here you can see an overview of the new product lineup.

new iPod lineup

iPod shuffle

The shuffle did not change in regards to price and features. The only change is, that now you can get more colors.

iPod nano

Now things get interesting. Pictures of the new nano leaked to the Internet a couple of days ago and this time they were spot on. The nano does no longer have this nice slim design, which in my eyes is a bit disappointing, but I see that the wide (fat) design is a necessity of the new display, which is definitely a big big “thumbs up” feature. Now you can watch podcasts with the same quality as on the old iPod. This is exactly what I have been waiting for: a small iPod with video features. The new operating system which is based on OSX does also look nice. The new game features on the other hand are something I do not really need on a small mp3 player. The capacity of the nano players was doubled to 4 GB and 8 GB. I think this was really necessary with the addition of video features. 4 GB is ok for a music-only player but once you start watching podcasts, you need more memory.

Overall I think the new nano is the most interesting product of yesterdays keynote.

iPod classic

The iPod classic is the right product for people who want to have their complete music library handy. With a capacity of 80 GB or even freaky 160 GB you don’t need to change playlists often. The new capacity is certainly a step in the right direction but I prefer a small form factor over big harddrives.

iPod touch

This is the new kid in town. It is basically an iPhone without the phone. It has all the nifty features of the iPhone, including the new display, user interface, a Safari browser and WLAN connectivity. So it is a real multimedia beast. But the big downside is the memory capacity. The iPod touch comes with 8GB or 16GB memory, which is ok for a music / video player, but the touch has so much more capabilities screaming for memory and then you are stuck with a maximum of 16 GB. I think one should wait for the next generation of the iPod touch to really benefit from the new possibilities of this product.

The bottom line is, that I am really impressed with the new lineup and I think the I will replace my old mp3 player with the new iPod nano in the near future. Congratulations Apple!

Woes and bliss of a musician

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This weekend I have been playing 2 gigs with my band Seventy-Seven. Funny how completely different these 2 gigs can turn out. We played the first gig on Friday night in a trendy venue named Schranne in the city center of Munich. Our mix of 70ies & 80ies Disco with a little bit of Pop and Rock seemed to be exactly what the audience wanted to hear, so we had a real party going on in there and overall it was a great success.

Then on saturday we were booked to play on a summer party at a local soccer club. We have been playing there last year on a similar occasion and we had quite a good time. But this year was completely different. It seems like there were completely different people. Most of the time we had the feeling that we were disturbing the audience instead of entertaining it. In between our sets they have been playing folk music from CD. No wonder we did not fit in there. German folk music is like the musical counter pole to Disco & Pop. Luckily we had to stop after 2/3rd of our program because the police paid a visit as the organizer did not register the party with the authorities.

So the bottom line is: If you are hiring a band for an event, do not search for a band that meets your personal taste, but try to find a band that meets the taste of your guests. This will make it a far more pleasent experience for everybody.